“Apple has shown interest in building a clip-on iPod with the same wearable form factor as the current iPod nano or iPod shuffle, but with a new integrated speaker built directly into the rear clip,” Neil Hughes reports for AppleInsider.

“The interesting concept was revealed this week in a new patent application published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,” Hughes reports. “Discovered by AppleInsider, the filing is simply entitled, ‘Speaker Clip.'”

Hughes reports, “The text of the proposed invention makes no specific mention of the iPod nano, or even the similarly shaped iPod shuffle. In fact, it doesn’t even include Apple’s iPod brand name. But the accompanying images show a device that looks like the current clip-on iPod nano and iPod shuffle, only with the new inclusion of an integrated speaker.”

More info, and Apple’s patent application illustrations, in the full article here.

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6 Comments

Who jacked with the MDN Mac Pro poll? A couple of days ago there was a huge influx of “yes” votes. I don’t believe that the results of this survey are representative of the opinions of the regular forum participants.

In my opinion, Apple should continue to offer some type of professional workstation, even if the sales volume is relatively low and it is not profitable. The company is making billions and can afford to make a strategic choice to retain a more flexible, high-end computer platform. If nothing else, Apple owes that to the professionals who helped keep Apple going in the dark years of the mid- to late 1990s.

Maybe you need to look at the poll in the perspective of how many Apple-buying consumers are interested in the Mac Pro. Most probably don’t even know it exists. I couldn’t be sure if anyone was still buying them. I think it’s a work of art and somewhere back in my mind, I’d love to own one, but for most computer users it’s just not necessary.

What use is it for Apple to keep building them if only a handful are sold every quarter. How do you convince a world of consumers buying iPads and iPhones to buy a computer that weighs as much as a small refrigerator but costs ten times as much? It’s probably just no longer practical for Apple to build them. Can Apple afford to? Easily. However, Apple must be one of the most frugal (tightfisted) companies around. Profit is everything to Apple. Although, I suppose AppleTV was the lone exception.

Over at the geek.com they think they see a hole in the clip that indicates that Apple may be bringing a camera to the nano. What a facinating idea. I can’t see any other reason for such a large hole. Apple may have just slipped in showing us a bit of the future here. nice.

The next shuffle should have Siri. To just be a web-enabled phone and PDA, you don’t actually need a screen if you had Siri. Sure, you’d lose significant functionality, especially in email and apps, but I’d be willing to go screenless if my phone was as small as a current Shuffle.